Unable to find any good parking spot for his sledge, Graf bound the rope used to keep himself on top of his ride around the deformed trunk of a tree. Even though the camp was surrounded by shallow waters, the tree was void of any color; a grayish brown spanned through its rough edges from the roots emerging out of the ground to the degenerated crown of the plant, void of any leaf. The driver ensured their ride was safe; here, he'd always put the sledge in the same exact position when staying in the camp, which tents were only mere steps away from the group.
Midas had heard Graf mumble the camp's name a few moments before he had stopped steering the ride; just by the sound of the name alone, it was clear that this region was influenced by the water kingdom. The sun had only a few moments to shine on top of them; the rift the camp was set up inside was much broader than the other few they passed through. Its rays provided some pleasant warmth, able to reach down to them as it had more space to let its shine hit them, forming twisted shadows that crawled from the dead tree onto the parked sledge Graf turned away from.
"You two... go fill up the vases with water... We most likely won't pass by any rivers after crossing the border." Snatching the short blade from the young girl's hand and stashing it under the white cloth covering him, he declared. Midas and Haya exchanged gazes before nodding back. Midas felt a sense of unease as he looked down at his bandaged hand, unsure if he would be able to carry anything heavy with just one arm. "We will buy bread for the last bit of the trip; their prices are much lower if you compare them with the salesmen at the border..." Inaya was hesitant at first but decided to nod, taking the hand of the younger girl who took a liking to her.
Haya glanced at Midas after they split up, his eyes darting away from their backs to look at his face, following his lowered gaze down to his bandaged right hand. The sun made the rusty metal of the sickle strapped under the loosened bandages on his back somehow shine in its light; dimmed by its age and covered with rust stains, the faint glow made Midas's darkened face seem much more lost. Haya took a while to watch his partner daydream, trying to wake him up again with a question, "Is... your arm feeling any better...?" his voice hesitant.
Midas's eyes widened slightly, trying to calm himself again as he raised his head. "Not really; I am able to move my thumb a bit more freely, but grasping things still hurts a lot..." His brows furrowed as he raised his hand to look at it. "I'm sorry I can't be of any use; you have done a lot to help me this far... and I'm not even able to make up for it." Midas softly shook his head at his uselessness, the sun quickly vanishing behind the split-up rock, as shadows began to flood the valley.
"There isn't much you could do about it... I'm sure you have your reasons to have this flat rock put into you; I respect that." Haya's voice calmly sounded towards him, much more quiet than usual, his gaze looking to the dry grass surrounding them, an awkward silence filling the tiny, yet massive space they both were inside of, until Haya's eyes began to light up, "Right...! I might just have the solution for our problem..." Without seeing Midas's surprised reaction to his sudden shift in tone, Haya turned to the ride, pulling out a disk of braided grass from beneath the hay.
Like a plate, the disk had raised edges, the bottom of it made for the shape of a human's head the fibers, which were braided and formed into the dish, were just as broad as the fibers from which their sleeping rugs were made, their yellowish-brown tone reminding him of the night they spent in Giv'Narva. "Inaya had always used these when carrying water from the well back to their residence... You put them on your head just like that." Midas was slightly shocked by Haya suddenly pressing down the dish onto his head, fitting just right, as the fibers crunched under the pressure of fitting it onto the boy's head.
Unable to ask Haya any further questions, a lump in his throat formed once he saw him carry over the vase towards him. Continuing his instructions, Haya spoke, "Alright—Inaya told me she always uses mana for carrying heavier things... Try to bundle your mana into your neck...". Overwhelmed by the sudden instruction to use mana, Midas closed his lids, his brows tired from sharpening, as he focused his mind. Pressing his lips together, the boy waited until he felt his neck area warm up, shortly replying back to put the vase on top.
The clay vase had a light brown color, void of any patterns, just as big as their torsos; it was the cheapest option for which Graf had opted, with light cracks already spanning through its surface. Slotting the foot of the vase on top of Midas's head, Haya began to go on, "Seems right... I think you can open your eyes now—take some steps with the vase!" Midas's expression was stressed and concentrated at the same time, following Haya as he took a few steps back, his hands stretched out to grasp the vase if there was a chance for it to drop.
Slow, carefully planned-out steps were taken by the both of them in nearly the same time, Midas unable to check the flor directly beneath him, as he didn't want to risk moving his head. Hayas's expression quickly lightened up once they arrived at the sledge. "Great...! I think we're good to go now; let me get the other one..." Grasping the two handles on its side, plastered onto its elongated form, Haya opted to stay in the back, hugging the vase he held while glancing forward to steer Midas in the right direction. "The spring is on our right—not far from here... Try to straighten your back a little."
Already able to hear the sound of waters splashing down from the steep stone fronts surrounding them, Midas risked asking a question, "Does Inaya use mana...? I never saw her speak of it; I didn't think she would know about storing mana in place of your body..." The bushes surrounding them reached higher in this region, some even able to crawl up to the same height as his elbow; their needles matched the faded green of the grass they passed through, the two of them slowly consumed by a light shadow that quickly crept up on them due to the passing sun.
"You're right... Now that you mention it, Inaya's father taught her in using mana; I always used to ask how it was going... and from one sun cycle to the next, he stopped giving me a reply... I never understood why, but I didn't dare to ask any further... Hayas's head dropped slightly, his tone just as worried and uncertain as Midas's expression, getting used to the light cramp that had developed in his neck, stopping right in front of the spring to wait for Haya to free him from the vase on top of him.
"It definitely helped..." Midas replied, not trying to cause Haya to feel down, standing still as Haya carefully grasped the vase, lifting it off of him. "Do you think I'm able to carry a completely filled vase as well...?" Scratching the back of his head, he watched as Haya stood beneath the rocky spring, pebbles and larger rocks gathered around the tiny pond of water that pooled up right around the minor waterfall that splashed down the stone front. The milky brown of the vase quickly darkened; the water, which wildly splashed down the rough rock wall in front of them, dampened the brown fiber of the poncho that covered Haya's body.
Haya returned to Midas with a cheeky grin, "I'm sure! If you feel like something might happen, just tell me..." His thumb was directed to himself as he watched Midas approach the shallow pool, crouching down to the reflection of himself in the uncalm water. Glancing down at a dark portrait of himself, warped by waves emerging from the spot in which the fall hit the pool of water, the bright sky above gave enough light for him to notice his spiky, roughed-up brown hair. Watching himself intently, as his fingers ran through his hair, his eyes looked quite young, just like his jaw, his pupils brown.
Switching out the vases, Haya stepped behind him, emerging in his reflection, in which Midas stared into, his hair was too long for his liking, the first time he truly saw himself after arriving here. The boy was unable to look away from the picture of himself; the pebbles beneath the waters were easy to ignore. Focusing again, his eyes darted to Hayas's face, distorted by the same shallow movements in the water; he grinned until he announced, "I think we're good to go now...". Checking the contents of the two stained vases, he turned to Mids again, now crouched in front of him.
Struggling slightly to press against the weight of the filled vase, he eventually managed to place it down onto Midas; his knees were shaky at first, struggling as he stood up and took his first few steps, until ultimately managing to balance out the extra weight, his eyes broadened just like his chest to make sure the vase would remain on his head. "You're really doing it, Midas! I didn't know you would be such a fast learner...! Haya replied with an excited tone as they managed to make their way back to the ride.
Panting shortly in exhaustion, the two of them waited for the rest to return, the sky already starting to color itself with weak shades of yellow. Midas grew slightly concerned after the two of them spent a while resting atop of the ride, "They are still not here... You think something might have happened on their way back...?" Midas eventually asked, sternly viewing the weathered tops of the tents in the distance.
"They are quite late; I'm sure one of them would've returned back to us if Graf wanted to do more than planned..." Haya replied hesitantly, looking back onto the path that led into the camp. "You know what...? Why don't we search for them...?" The two of them stood up; Haya and Midas exchanged worried glances before heading in the direction of the camp.